Green Chemistry Protocols: Specific Ionic Liquids as Recyclable Reagents, Catalysts, Solvents and Extractors

Abstract

Low-temperature melting salts or ionic liquids (ILs) were determined to be useful as alternative solvents, catalytic media and simply catalysts in various processes of organic synthesis. In this paper reviewed the available literature and our own data on the synthesis, physical and chemical properties, and future uses of imidazolic ionic liquids in different kind of reactions. Ionic liquids form a two-phase system, which greatly facilitates the separation of products from the catalyst. In addition, they can be used repeatedly without any activity loss and without a need of regeneration. Another important advantage is represented by the strength (for some systems - superacidic) of metal-chlorinated ionic liquids, a property that allows for the transformation process to occur at low temperatures. These properties permit ionic liquids to be full participants in "alternative" chemical processes, even if we don't take into account the productivity and selectivity gains presented in this review. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013.